A pullet is worth most to a buyer who can see she is healthy, settled and well recorded. Here is how to rear with a sale in mind.
Halaal Farms Ghana team6 June 2026 · 12 min read
Most people who ask us for layers want eggs for themselves. A smaller group asks a different question, and it is the more interesting one: who will buy my pullets once they are grown? A keeper who raises birds to point of lay and sells them on can earn from the flock twice, once from the rearing and again from the eggs of whoever buys them. It sounds simple. In practice it asks for more discipline than running a flock for your own table.
This guide is for a keeper who already knows how to brood chicks and wants to think about the pullet as a product. We hatch, vaccinate and deliver day-old chicks from our farm in Opeikuma, Kasoa, to all 16 regions, so we hear from keepers at both ends of the trade: the ones starting their first flock and the ones who want to grow it into a small business. The buyers on the other side of the sale tend to fall into a few groups, and the keepers who earn steadily from pullets tend to do the same few things well. This guide sets them out.
We have kept the figures to the prices we quote today and to the general facts we can stand behind. Where a figure depends on the day, the season or the strain, we say so, and we ask you to confirm it with us before you commit.
Before you buy a single chick, spend a week asking who in your area keeps hens and has been disappointed. Ask the market women who sell eggs where their birds come from. Ask the poultry shop, the church group that keeps a few birds for the hall, and the family in the compound who always has eggs but never enough. Most of them will tell you what they have tried and what went wrong, and that is the market you are about to enter.
In our experience the main groups are these. The first is the household that wants a steady supply of eggs and has no time to wait for a hen to start laying. The second is the small farmer who is expanding a layer house and would rather buy birds at the right age than rear them. The third is the keeper who lost a flock to disease and needs replacements quickly. Each group pays for something different. The household pays for convenience and a bird that is easy to handle. The expanding farmer pays for an even flock. The keeper who lost birds pays for certainty about health, and that is where a clear record earns its keep.
Work out which group is nearest to you. A town with a busy market and many compound keepers will take smaller lots at a steady pace. A rural area where neighbours already keep hens may want to buy in larger lots once, and then come back in a season. Your pricing, your delivery and your record-keeping should match the buyer you have, not the one you hoped for.
The breed decides a lot before the first feed bag is opened. Imported layers such as Hy-Line Brown give a flock that is even and easy to predict, and buyers who run a proper layer house value that. Local hatch birds such as Sasso and Kuroiler suit free-range and dual-purpose keeping, where a buyer wants a bird that forages, can be eaten when the flock is done laying, and does not need a battery cage. The right choice depends on who will buy from you.
The table below uses the day-old prices from our price list for October 2026. These are the prices from the box and from one chick, and they are a starting point, not the price of a pullet at point of lay. Always confirm today's figure with us before you budget.
| Breed group | Day-old price from | Box of 50 from | Suits this buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layer Hy-Line Brown (imported) | GH₵23 each | GH₵1,150 | Expanding layer houses and buyers who want even, predictable eggs |
| Sasso (local hatch) | GH₵13 each | GH₵650 | Free-range keepers and buyers who want a local-style bird |
| Kuroiler or Noiler (local hatch) | GH₵11 each | GH₵550 | Compound and backyard buyers who want eggs and a dual-purpose bird |
| Plymouth or Barred Rock (local hatch) | GH₵7 each | GH₵350 | Budget backyard keepers who are happy with a slower, hardy bird |
Lohmann Brown and Australorp are the two we price on the day, so ask us for today's figure rather than relying on a number from a previous season. A buyer who has seen a fixed price on your sheet will ask why it moved, so keep your own price list dated and honest, and update it when the chick price changes.
A buyer does not know the breed history, but they can see whether a bird is bright, clean and moving well. Walk the flock every morning and look for birds that stand apart from the rest, not birds that run from you. A saleable pullet is alert, has a clean vent and bright eyes, carries her weight evenly, and has feathers that are coming in cleanly rather than ragged. Mites and lice are easy to miss, so check under the wing and around the vent on a sample of birds before you pack any.
Uniformity sells. A lot of birds that are close in size and development looks like a good flock to a buyer, even before the first egg. That comes from the brooding, the feed phases and the space, which is why the rearing period is where most of the money is made. Our guide on why uniformity matters explains the same principle for broilers, and it applies just as well to pullets that will be sold at a particular age.
Do not sell a bird that is off colour, underweight or sneezing because you hope the buyer will not notice. A single bad bird in a sold lot is the sort of thing that ends a relationship. Remove it, record it and tell the buyer what happened if they ask.
Work the numbers on paper before you commit. Start with the chicks: a box of 50 Plymouth or Barred Rock at the price on our list costs GH₵350, and a box of Hy-Line Brown costs GH₵1,150. That is the entry cost, and it is only the first line. The biggest running cost is feed. Feed is more than half of the running cost of a flock, and a 50 kg feed bag has been running at roughly GH₵400 to GH₵470, depending on brand and season. Confirm the bag price in your own town before you use that figure, because it moves with maize and soya.
Losses are the next line. A well-managed flock loses about 3 to 5 percent, and a poorly managed one can lose 10 to 20 percent. On a box of 50, a 3 to 5 percent loss is roughly one or two birds. At 10 to 20 percent it is five to ten birds, and each one is a bird you have fed for weeks and cannot sell. That difference is most of the profit or loss on a rearing batch.
Then add the things people forget: the brooder power, the drinkers, the wire for the pen, the vaccines and the fuel for the trip to the buyer. Keep a line for each one. A keeper who does not know the true cost of a pullet will sell too cheap in the first season and wonder why there is no money left by the second.
Rearing is where a pullet is made. Give each bird the space, the feed and the water it needs at each stage, and watch the flock more than the calendar. Feed the stage you have, not the stage on a chart. If the birds are behind, the answer is usually in the feed, the water or the space, and not in a bigger bag of anything. Our guide on the feed budget for a layer flock sets out how the costs move by stage, and it is a better starting point than guessing.
Vaccinate on time and keep the vaccine record in the same notebook as your feed record. Every batch we hatch is vaccinated before it leaves the farm, and we tell you what was given so you can write it down. A buyer who asks for the vaccine history is asking whether you know your own flock. If you can answer from the notebook, you have a sale. If you cannot, you are asking them to trust you blind.
Check the flock at night as well as in the day. Our guide on night checks during brooding applies to pullets long after they leave the brooder, because a problem that starts after dark is usually bigger by morning. Also keep the drinkers clean. Water is the cheapest thing you can get right and the first thing a buyer will ask about.
A sale is the start of a relationship, not the end of a transaction. Agree the details before the birds leave your pen. Decide the pick-up day, who transports the birds, the age and weight you are selling at, and what the buyer receives in writing. A simple one-page note, signed or at least dated, saves arguments later. Put down the breed, the number of birds, the vaccines given and the date of the last check.
Decide what happens if a bird dies soon after the sale. Many keepers offer a replacement from the next batch, and that is a fair way to protect the buyer and your name. Say what you will do and how long the offer lasts, then keep to it. We do the same with our own chicks: any that arrive dead are replaced free in the next hatch. Your own promise should be just as clear.
Ask every buyer for feedback after a month. A buyer who tells you a flock is laying well, or that one lot was weaker than the rest, is giving you the most useful information you will get all year. Write it down next to the batch. Over a few seasons those notes will tell you which breed, which feed and which rearing routine sell best in your area.
It can be, but only if you have space, a proper brooder and enough feed money to carry the batch for weeks before you see any income. Start with one box of 50 for your own use first, and watch how it goes before you try to sell to others.
That depends on your buyer. Buyers who want eggs quickly often prefer birds closer to laying. Buyers who want to rear their own birds from a younger age prefer earlier pullets. Agree the age in writing so there is no dispute about what was sold.
Hold your price and explain the cost of feed, vaccines and losses. If you need to reduce the price for a regular buyer, do it openly, for a bigger lot, and keep the same standard of birds. Do not cut the quality to match the price.
Isolate any bird that looks unwell, do not pack it with the others, and call a vet if you see more than one case. Our guide on isolation and quarantine for new birds sets out a simple routine for keeping a sick bird apart.
A pullet business rests on birds you can trust from the first day. If you are ready to start, send the order form on our site or call 024 915 1503 and tell us which breed you have chosen and who your buyers are. We will confirm the price, the hatch date and the delivery cost with you before you pay, and you can pay by cash, mobile money or bank transfer. The minimum order is one box of 50 chicks. Before you decide, it is worth reading our guide on choosing your first flock size and our notes on building repeat customers for eggs, because the same habits that bring a buyer back for eggs will bring them back for pullets.
Written by the Halaal Farms Ghana team. We hatch and import day-old chicks at Opeikuma, Kasoa, and deliver to all 16 regions. This article is general guidance for farmers. For diagnosis and treatment of sick birds, speak to a vet or your district veterinary office.
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